Sink Strainer Basket with Odor Prevention Arrangement

ABSTRACT

A sink strainer basket includes a strainer body having a drainage opening, and an odor prevention arrangement. The odor prevention arrangement includes a drain regulator movably provided on a bottom side of the strainer body to normally close the drainage opening, a supporting member supported by the strainer body, and a resilient member mounted on the supporting member. The resilient member is arranged to exert a biasing force toward the drain regulator so as to normally drive the drain regulator to close the drainage opening, wherein when a predetermined amount of sewage is allowed to pour into the drainage cavity, the biasing force exerted by the resilient member is temporarily overcome by the force caused by flowing of the sewage so that the drain regulator is arranged to move away from the drainage opening for allowing the sewage to drain into the sink drainage hole.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a sink accessory, and more particularly to a sink strainer basket comprising an odor prevention arrangement which is capable of minimizing odor when a drain regulator is closed, and allowing drainage of sewage when the drain regulator is opened.

Description of Related Arts

A sink strainer basket for a kitchen sink plays a vital role in indoor hygienic environment of households in modern times, even though it is a small device. Generally, the sink strainer basket with water-excreting and sealing functions are available in market, but consumers need to seal off manually to stop odor by themselves. If forget to seal off, odor may come out from the sewage pipe and contaminate the air inside of the house. This may cause harm to people's health.

In light of the above, there is a need to develop a sink strainer basket which may prevent or minimize odor automatically after draining of sewage.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

Certain variations of the present invention provide a sink strainer basket comprising an odor prevention arrangement which is capable of minimizing odor when a drain regulator is closed.

Certain variations of the present invention provide a sink strainer basket comprising an odor prevention arrangement wherein the drain regulator is arranged to automatically open when a predetermined amount of sewage flows into a sink in which the sink strainer basket is installed.

In one aspect of the present invention, it provides a sink strainer basket for a sink having a sink drainage hole, comprising:

a strainer body having a drainage cavity and a drainage opening communicating with the drainage cavity; and

an odor prevention arrangement, which comprises:

a drain regulator movably provided on a bottom side of the strainer body to normally close the drainage opening; and

a supporting member supported by the strainer body; and

a resilient member mounted on the supporting member and arranged to exert a biasing force toward the drain regulator so as to normally drive the drain regulator to close the drainage opening, wherein when a predetermined amount of sewage is allowed to pour into the drainage cavity, the biasing force exerted by the resilient member is temporarily overcome by the force caused by flowing of the sewage so that the drain regulator is arranged to move away from the drainage opening for allowing the sewage to drain into the sink drainage hole.

This summary presented above is provided merely to introduce certain concepts and not to identify any key or essential features of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a sink strainer basket according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the sink strainer basket according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional side view of the sink strainer basket according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating that a drain regulator is in a closed position.

FIG. 4 is a sectional side view of the sink strainer basket according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating that a drain regulator is in an opened position.

FIG. 5A to FIG. 5D are alternative configurations of a resilient member of the sink strainer basket according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following detailed description of the preferred embodiment is the preferred mode of carrying out the invention. The description is not to be taken in any limiting sense. It is presented for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the present invention.

It should be appreciated that the terms “install”, “connect”, “couple”, and “mount” in the following description refer to the connecting relationship in the accompanying drawings for easy understanding of the present invention. For example, the connection can refer to permanent connection or detachable connection. Furthermore, “connected” may also mean direct connection or indirect connection, or connection through other auxiliary components. Therefore, the above terms should not be an actual connection limitation of the elements of the present invention.

It should be appreciated that the terms “length”, “width”, “top”, “bottom”, “front”, “rear”, “left”, “right”, vertical“, “horizontal”, “upper”, “lower”, “exterior”, and “interior” in the following description refer to the orientation or positioning relationship in the accompanying drawings for easy understanding of the present invention without limiting the actual location or orientation of the present invention. Therefore, the above terms should not be an actual location limitation of the elements of the present invention.

It should be appreciated that the terms “first”, “second”, “one”, “a”, and “an” in the following description refer to “at least one” or “one or more” in the embodiment. In particular, the term “a” in one embodiment may refer to “one” while in another embodiment may refer to “more than one”. Therefore, the above terms should not be an actual numerical limitation of the elements of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5A to FIG. 5D of the drawings, a sink strainer basket according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. Broadly, the sink strainer basket may comprise a strainer body 10 and an odor prevention arrangement 20. The sink strainer basket may be used for a sink 100 having a sink drainage hole 101. Examples of the sink 100 may include a bathroom sink or a kitchen sink. The sink strainer basket of the present invention may be positioned in the sink drainage hole 101 so that sewage may first pass through the sink strainer basket of the present invention before being discharged to a sewage pipe through the sink drainage hole 101. The sink 100 may be any conventional sink 100 having a main cavity 102, wherein the sink drainage hole 101 may be formed on a bottom surface 103 of the main cavity 102.

The strainer body 10 may have a drainage cavity 11 and at least one drainage opening 12 communicating with the drainage cavity 11.

The odor prevention arrangement 20 may comprise a drain regulator 3, a supporting member 2 and a resilient member 4. The drain regulator 3 may be movably provided on a bottom side 161 of a bottom panel 16 of the strainer body 10 to normally close the drainage opening 12. The supporting member 2 may be supported by the strainer body 10.

The resilient member 4 may be mounted on the supporting member 2 and arranged to exert a biasing force toward the drain regulator 3 so as to drive the drain regulator 3 to normally close the drainage opening 12, wherein when a predetermined amount of sewage is allowed to pour into the drainage cavity 11, the biasing force exerted by the resilient member 4 may be temporarily overcome by the force caused by flowing of the sewage so that the drain regulator 3 is arranged to move away from the drainage opening 12 for allowing the sewage to drain into the sink drainage hole 301.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the strainer body 10 may be configured from metallic material such as stainless steel. It may also be configured from plastic material. The strainer body 10 may have an annular cross-sectional shape when viewed from the top. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 of the drawings, the strainer body 10 may have a main portion 15 and an outer rim portion 13 outwardly and circumferentially extended from the main portion 15. The main portion 15 may be accommodated in the sink drainage hole 301 of the sink 30, while the outer rim portion 13 may extend to rest on the bottom surface 103 of the main cavity 102 of the sink 30.

The strainer body 10 may have a plurality of drainage openings 12 distributed thereon, wherein each drainage openings 12 may communicate the drainage cavity 11 with the sink drainage hole 301 of the sink 30. When sewage is poured in the drainage cavity 11, the sewage may be allowed to pass through the drainage openings 12 when the drain regulator 3 is not blocking the drainage openings 12. Each of the drainage openings 12 may have an elongated cross-sectional shape when viewed from the top and may radially extend from the center portion of the strainer body 10.

The strainer body 10 may further comprise a handle 14 upwardly extended from an upper side 162 of the bottom panel 16 of the strainer body 10 for allowing a user to grab thereon. The handle 14 may have a cylindrical or tubular structure upwardly extended from the center portion of the strainer body 10 in the drainage cavity 11.

The odor prevention arrangement 20 may be utilized for normally blocking the sink drainage hole 301 so that undesirable odor is prevented from spreading over the indoor space in which the sink 30 is located.

The drain regulator 3 may have a cross sectional shape which corresponds to a cross-sectional shape of the main portion 15 of the strainer body 10 so that the drain regulator 3 may be moved to block all of the drainage openings 12. For example, the drain regulator 3 may also have a circular cross-sectional shape.

The supporting member 2 may have a tubular structure and may extend downwardly from the bottom side 161 of the bottom panel 16 of the strainer body 10. For the sake of easy manufacturing, the supporting member 2 may be integrally extended from the handle 14 as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 of the drawings. Alternatively, the supporting member 2 and the handle 14 may be separate components supported by the strainer body 10, in which the handle 14 may upwardly extend from an upper side 162 of the bottom panel 16 while the supporting member 2 may downwardly extend from the bottom side 161 of the bottom panel 16. The supporting member 2 may have an outer diameter which is smaller than that of the handle 14.

The resilient member 4 may have a mounting portion 41 and a plurality of resilient legs 42 outwardly extended from the mounting portion 41 for biasing against a bottom side 161 of the bottom panel 16 of the strainer body 10. In addition, the resilient member 4 may have a through mounting slot 43 formed on the mounting portion 41, wherein the supporting member 2 may penetrate through the mounting slot 43 so as to couple with the resilient member 4.

Each of the resilient legs 42 may be slightly bent to have a curved or inclined contour when viewed from the side (see FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 of the drawings). Thus, each of the resilient legs 42 may have an extension portion 421 extended from the mounting portion 41, and an inclined portion 422 inclinedly extended from the extension portion 421 to bias against the drain regulator 3. The inclined portion 422 and the extension portion 421 may form a predetermined angle of inclination as viewed from the side, as illustrated in FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 of the drawings.

When the resilient member 4 is mounted on the supporting member 2, each of the supporting legs 42 may possess a predetermined resilient ability for exerting an upward pushing force toward the drain regulator 3. In this preferred embodiment, the drain regulator 3 may movably couple to the supporting member 2 in such a manner that the drain regulator 3 may move along a longitudinal direction of the supporting member 2. However, this movement may be controlled or limited by the upward pushing force exerted by the resilient legs 42.

Note that the number of resilient legs 42 maty vary depending on the circumstances in which the present invention is manufactured or used. Some exemplary configurations may be illustrated in FIG. 5A to FIG. 5D of the drawings. As shown in FIG. 5A of the drawings, the mounting portion 41 may have ring-shaped cross section as viewed from the top, wherein the resilient member 4 may have two resilient legs 42 extended from the mounting portion 41 in two opposite directions respectively. As another example, as shown in FIG. 5B of the drawings, the resilient member 4 may have three resilient legs 42 radially extended from the mounting portion 41, wherein each two resilient legs 42 may have an angle of inclination of approximately 120°.

As another example, as shown in FIG. 5C of the drawings, the resilient member 4 may have four resilient legs 42 radially extended from the mounting portion 41, wherein each two resilient legs 42 may have an angle of inclination of approximately 90°. As another example, as shown in FIG. 5D of the drawings, the resilient member 4 may have five resilient legs 42 radially extended from the mounting portion 41, wherein each two resilient legs 42 may have an angle of inclination of approximately 72°.

The odor prevention arrangement 20 may further comprise a locking member 5 securely mounted on a bottom end portion 21 of the supporting member 21, wherein the mounting portion 41 of the resilient member 4 may be mounted on the supporting member 2 at a position between the drain regulator 3 and the locking member 5. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings, the bottom end portion 21 of the supporting member may be threaded while the locking member 5 may be threadedly connected to the bottom end portion 21 of the supporting member 2 so as to securely connect thereto. The goal is to limit the position of the resilient member 4 in a stable manner so that it may exert a sufficient urging force toward the drain regulator 3 without causing structural insecurity of the sink strainer basket.

The operation of the present invention is as follows: under normal condition, the resilient legs 42 of the resilient member 4 may be arranged to bias against the drain regulator 3 so as to exert an upward urging force thereto. The drain regulator 3 may be forced to cover the drainage openings 12. When tap water flows into the sink 30 (for dish washing purpose for example), sewage may eventually flow through drainage cavity 11 and the drainage openings 12. The flow of sewage creates a pressure on the drain regulator 3 which may overcome the resilient force exerting on the other side of the drain regulator 3. When this happens, the drain regulator 3 may be pushed to move downwardly along the a longitudinal direction of the supporting member 2 in the sink drainage hole 301 so as to unblock the drainage openings 12 and the sewage may be allowed to pass through the clearance formed between the drain regulator 3 and the strainer body 10, as shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings. This allows drainage of the sewage through the sink drainage hole 301.

When sewage stops flowing through the sink strainer basket, the pressure exerted by the flowing sewage ceases to exist and the drain regulator 3 may be pushed by the resilient member 4 and move upwardly along a longitudinal direction of the supporting member 2 so as to return to its normal position, that is, to substantially cover the drainage openings 12 of the strainer body 10. This prevent undesirable odor from spreading to the indoor space in which the sink 30 and the sink strainer basket is located.

The present invention, while illustrated and described in terms of a preferred embodiment and several alternatives, is not limited to the particular description contained in this specification. Additional alternative or equivalent components could also be used to practice the present invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A sink strainer basket for a sink having a sink drainage hole, comprising: a strainer body having a bottom panel, a drainage cavity and a drainage opening communicating with said drainage cavity; and an odor prevention arrangement, which comprises: a drain regulator movably provided on a bottom side of said strainer body to normally close said drainage opening; and a supporting member supported by said strainer body; and a resilient member mounted on said supporting member and arranged to exert a biasing force toward said drain regulator so as to normally drive said drain regulator to close said drainage opening, wherein when a predetermined amount of sewage is allowed to pour into said drainage cavity, said biasing force exerted by said resilient member is temporarily overcome by said force caused by flowing of said sewage so that said drain regulator is arranged to move away from said drainage opening for allowing said sewage to drain into said sink drainage hole.
 2. The sink strainer basket, as recited in claim 1, wherein said resilient member has a mounting portion and a plurality of resilient legs outwardly extended from said mounting portion for biasing against a bottom side of said bottom panel of said strainer body, said resilient member having a through mounting slot formed on said mounting portion, wherein said supporting member is arranged to penetrate through said mounting slot so as to couple with said resilient member.
 3. The sink strainer basket, as recited in claim 2, wherein each of said resilient legs has an extension portion extended from said mounting portion, and an inclined portion inclinedly extended from said extension portion to bias against said drain regulator, in such a manner that when said resilient member is mounted on said supporting member, each of said supporting legs is arranged to possess a predetermined resilient ability for exerting an upward pushing force toward said drain regulator.
 4. The sink strainer basket, as recited in claim 3, wherein said drain regulator is movably coupled to said supporting member in such a manner that said drain regulator is arranged to move along a longitudinal direction of said supporting member.
 5. The sink strainer basket, as recited in claim 4, wherein said odor prevention arrangement further comprises a locking member securely mounted on a bottom end portion of said supporting member, wherein said mounting portion of said resilient member is mounted on said supporting member at a position between said drain regulator and said locking member.
 6. The sink strainer basket, as recited in claim 1, wherein said strainer body further comprises a handle upwardly extended from an upper side of said bottom panel of said strainer body for allowing a user to grab thereon.
 7. The sink strainer basket, as recited in claim 4, wherein said strainer body further comprises a handle upwardly extended from an upper side of said bottom panel of said strainer body for allowing a user to grab thereon.
 8. The sink strainer basket, as recited in claim 5, wherein said strainer body further comprises a handle upwardly extended from an upper side of said bottom panel of said strainer body for allowing a user to grab thereon.
 9. The sink strainer basket, as recited in claim 6, wherein said supporting member has a tubular structure and extends downwardly from a bottom side of said bottom panel of said strainer body.
 10. The sink strainer basket, as recited in claim 7, wherein said supporting member has a tubular structure and extends downwardly from a bottom side of said bottom panel of said strainer body.
 11. The sink strainer basket, as recited in claim 8, wherein said supporting member has a tubular structure and extends downwardly from a bottom side of said bottom panel of said strainer body.
 12. The sink strainer basket, as recited in claim 9, wherein said strainer body has a plurality of drainage openings distributed thereon, wherein each of said drainage openings has an elongated cross-sectional shape and radially extends from a center portion of said strainer body.
 13. The sink strainer basket, as recited in claim 10, wherein said strainer body has a plurality of drainage openings distributed thereon, wherein each of said drainage openings has an elongated cross-sectional shape and radially extends from a center portion of said strainer body.
 14. The sink strainer basket, as recited in claim 11, wherein said strainer body has a plurality of drainage openings distributed thereon, wherein each of said drainage openings has an elongated cross-sectional shape and radially extends from a center portion of said strainer body.
 15. The sink strainer basket, as recited in claim 3, wherein said resilient member has two resilient legs radially extended from said mounting portion, wherein said two resilient legs form an angle of inclination of approximately 180°.
 16. The sink strainer basket, as recited in claim 14, wherein said resilient member has two resilient legs radially extended from said mounting portion, wherein said two resilient legs form an angle of inclination of approximately 180°.
 17. The sink strainer basket, as recited in claim 3, wherein said resilient member has four resilient legs radially extended from said mounting portion, wherein each two resilient legs form an angle of inclination of approximately 90°.
 18. The sink strainer basket, as recited in claim 14, wherein said resilient member has four resilient legs radially extended from said mounting portion, wherein each two resilient legs form an angle of inclination of approximately 90°.
 19. The sink strainer basket, as recited in claim 3, wherein said resilient member has five resilient legs radially extended from said mounting portion, wherein each two resilient legs form an angle of inclination of approximately 72°.
 20. The sink strainer basket, as recited in claim 14, wherein said resilient member has five resilient legs radially extended from said mounting portion, wherein each two resilient legs form an angle of inclination of approximately 72°. 